Mailing tube



June 12, 1928. 1,673,599

I M. R. SMITH MAILING TUBE Filed June 26, 1926 INVENTOR lmt 39 .Y-

' ATTORNEY Patented June 12, 1928.

UNITED STATES MAURICE B. SMITH, orimnsns crrr, Mrssonm. d

Martino tr UB1].

Application filed. June 26,

This invention relates to mailing tubes; The invention is capable of general application in the art of mailing tubes and'sim'ilar devices, and is of particular importance as a fluid mailing tube. There are'a-num-,

berof industrial organizations that maintain laboratories for the analysis of specimens submitted to them, and as the specimens are usually fluids it is necessary that the contain ers be fluid-tight. Glass bottles have been used in the past" for the purpose, beingfi'n ha'vmg'return addressesand the names of the serted in an outer housing for mailing. These have proven ineffectual as containers,

as, although the glass is not easily afiect'ed in'conveniently broken, with "disastrous rethe fluid content, yet they are readily and sult-s, are' diificult to clean and to keep sterile, have small openings rendering the bottles difficultto fill, and, of great importance, they are i too heavy for economical use, particularlyin view of the high postal rates.

Amongthe objects of this invention are,

verytlnck to withstand any shocks'at all, and 'thls increases the weight and the cost of mail? to providea mailing tube of great durabiL ityand resistance to breakage; to provide a mailing parcel of great efiiciency but with a. minimumof weightgto provide a specimen containerhaving a niaximum'mouth or filling opening; to provide a specimen container oi insignificant weight that may be readily filled, emptied,cleaned and steri hired; to provide a metal container which is not affected by the specimen with which it filled and which does not afi'ect the specimen; to provide a unitary receptacle and mailing. tube to provide a unitary receptacle and mailing tube arranged to be fluid tight and to be maintained so by a novel closure de A vice, and many other "objects and advantages as will be more apparent as'the description proceeds. h I

Inthe accompanying drawings, Fig. 1, represents a longitudinal section through a mailing tube in accordance with this invention, Fig. 2, represents a similar View of a modified form of the invention, Fig. 3, repre sents a section through one form of unitary receptacle and mailing parcel, and Figl, represents a further modification of the form shown'in Fig. 3, A o

Figureq5 isa horizontal cross-section of the device of Figure 2. 1

Figure 6 is a vertical cross-section of another modification.

It Will be recognized that there are many things other than fluids that may be used in connection with the containers of this inven- 1926. Serial no :11 8,685. j

tion,and the uses to which the containers may be put need not involve mailing. For the purposeof this description only, and

Without any desire so to limit-the invention, 7 the invention Willbe considered in the light of the practice of laboratories conducting The practice is similar in many respects to the transmission of oil i analysis of urine.

specimens, or of blood for W'assermann usually enclosedin Keidel tubes. I A mailing tube with an enclosed bottle tests,

person to whom it is sent, or some such data,

is either handed Yto'the patient by a physician,or mailed bythe laboratory. The mailto therecipient.

Where glass bottles" are used, they must'be ing the entire parcel, bothways. Thenecks oi the bottles are of restricted area making them difiicultto filL'and-clcaningOf the bottles is diflicult, and due to'the'frangibility, of the glass the breakage rate is high when ing tube is opened, tliebottle removed, filled with a specimen, the outer wrapperof the they are attempted to be sterilized." Altogether they are very unsatisfactory.

Referr ng now to the drawings, tlnsinventionconsists primarily of a metallic fluid con tainer 1 0, of cylindrical form open at one end as atall to form a wide mouth, and

closed at the bottomas at 12.{ This may be" formed by a die, of'any desirable metal. It 1 has been found that aluminum answers every requirement, being durable, easily worked to "the desired shape, being extremely light, and

f $11011 igidi y as to withstand normal crushing strains. It is tobe noted that the sides of the, aluminum bottle thus formed do not converge, but remain of the samediam eter throughoutfthe bottle. The

may be boiled *for sterilization with P r 1 0 freedom, as itwill not break.

Associated with thebottle is a cork or stopper 13, preferably with gradually ta- "wide. inouth 11 being of the same diameter as the -bottle provides an easily filled entrance, in?

to which liquids can befquickly poured and v i ered sides, as at 14, and preferably of such ength that when frictionally engaged in the mouth 11, of the bottle, the top or upper end of the cork extends appreciably above or beyond the bottle in position to be engaged by the cap of the outer housing to be later described.

For mailing purposes, the bottle is inserted in a mailing tube which may be of any desired form and material. As shown in Fig. 1, the tube 15 may be of cardboard or fiber material, cylindrical in shape, closed at the bottom by the permanent metal closure 16, the open end of the tube being bound by a ferrule or collar 17, carrying thread 18, arranged to threadably receive the cap 20,l1aving integral flange 21 threaded as at 22. The construction of Fig, 2, is very similar to Fig. 1, except that the outer housing 24 is a closed cylinder of metal, such as alminum, formed in any desirable manner, and with a thread 25 cast or turned on the upper open end. The cap for a closure may also be of aluminum as shown at 26, with integral flange 27 and thread 28, or the punched metal cap shown in Fig. 1 may be used. In either form, and for lightness and general utility I prefer the outer housing to be made of aluminum, which is rigid, and amply strong to resist ordinary shocks incident to its use, and for another very important reason. With the cardboard tube as used heretofore, any leakage of a specimen from the bottle saturated the cardboard and rendered it unfit for further use. With the housing of this invention the outer casing may be sterilized and used as frequently as desired.

In either case, I prefer to provide a thin layer of resilient material 30 in the bottom of the outer housing, upon which the bottle of my invention rests, in such position with the cork inserted, that the upper end of the cork extends a trifle beyond the end of the tube. In this position, application of the cap and screwing it up on its threads imposes the lower surface of the cap upon the end of the cork forcing the cork further into the bottle, and preventing its withdrawal, and also exerts longitudinal pressure on the entire bottle, through the cork pushing it against the elastic or resilient layer at the bottom of the tube. so that the bottle is resiliently held against shocks and is prevented from rattling about in the tube. The advantages of this will be obvious.

In the forms of the invention disclosed in Figs. 3 and 4, a single unitary tube is provided which forms a combination of receptacle of mailing tube. As shown in Fig. 3, a cylindrical tube, preferably of aluminum as at 31, has a closed bottom as at 32, and is of uniform diameter from the bottom to very close to the top. where an inturned collar or head 33 is provided, of appreciably smaller diameter than the tube, and beyond the head a threaded terminus 34 is formed, which may be of the same diameter as the lower portion of the tube below the bead. A cork 13 is provided arranged for frictional seating on the valve seat formed by the inner surface of the head, and which is arranged to be forced into seating position on the head by pressure from the cap 20 is screwed upon the threads of the terminus 34. The advantages of this form of the invention are obvious, but they include a large pouring opening or funnel, so that filling the receptacle is made quite easy, and, as the cork is firmly held by the cap and by friction, there is no chance of leakage. The elimination of the outer housing, besides being economical in the purchase of the dc cises, is of tremendous value in view of the decrease effected in mailing costs.

In the form shown in Fig. 4. the outer wall of the tube 35 is straight, but has an internal annular bead cast or formed in the metal as at 36. to form the shoulder to receive the cork 37. and has the closed bottom 39, and upper threaded portions 38 arranged to receive a threaded cap 40 in the same manner as the form shown in Fig. 3.

The cylindrical bodies provided in the several forms are arranged in any desired manner to receive external stickers or labels 41, hearing mailing and other data as may be required.

In the form of the invention disclosed in Fig. 6, the lower bottle portion 42 terminates in the cork receiving bead 43, and the upper filling opening 44, is closed by the threaded screw-cap 45, preferably carrying a cork disc 46, or similar sealing medium, to bear against and seal the mouth 47 of the filling opening. The cork 48, which may be relatively short has a short cork-screw 50 screwed into it in position to be grasped either by the fingers of the operator, or by a mechanical device such as a hooked instrument, (not shown), and the rest of the space in the filling opening 44 is filled with more or less compacted fibrous material, such as cotton. which is highly absorbent to prevent leakage from the bottle month if perchance the cork 48 does not form a perfect seal, or becomes dislodged in transit. The absorbent factor, in connection with the additional seal 46 provides an absolutely tight and leak-proof structure which may be used with perfect safety. and which will accord with the postal regulations.

While the preferred material for the bottles and containers is aluminum, yet any alloy of aluminum might also be used to good advantage.

The invention provides an efiicient containcr and mailing tube, arranged to receive liquids of various sorts, as well as solids when desired; that is light in weight with great savings in postage; which is strong, simple, practically unbreakable, and which is fluid-tight, due to the novel arrangement of the closure members.

I clailn as my invention:

lower liquid receiving receptacle, an in Wardly extending annular shoulder formed,

in the tube to form the mouth of the liquid receiving receptacle, a cork frictionally inserted into the opening in the shoulder to space between it and the end of the tube above the shoulder, absorbent means comthereof. i

cap engageable tallic cylinder having a closed, end and an o open end, an annular curved bead extend- 1. A unitary mallmg tube, comprising a 'ing into the tube near the open end and arranged to frictionally receive a cork extending below the bead and above the open end, threads formed externally on the cylincler adjacent the bead, an internally threaded ca arran 'ed to en a e the threads and D C D having a portion in engagement with the cork to -maintain the frictional engagement In testimony whereof hereby aflizr my signature,

MAURICE B. SMITH. 

